


Reunion: Palaven

by therunya



Series: Reunion [1]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-13
Updated: 2012-03-13
Packaged: 2017-11-01 21:28:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/361459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therunya/pseuds/therunya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the end of the war with the Reapers, Shepard goes on a search for her own sake. SPOILERS for the end of ME3.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reunion: Palaven

Earth had been taken back from the Reapers, saved with their departure. A departure that came at a heavy cost, but left Earth and all the other planets of their galaxy safe. Safe enough, with fires burning across their surfaces and their populations weak and grieving for lost ones. Everyone had lost someone -- others had lost entire planets. 

But they hadn’t lost everyone. 

Shepard had to remind herself of that as the horizon of Palaven came into view of the Alliance ship she was on. They hadn’t forgotten the help the turians had given them, and even if they had to do it in hazmat suits, they would return the favor by helping to rebuild their cities. Some of their cities. 

Even the soldiers on this ship were afraid – or intimidated by her. Once again, she’d become The Commander Shepard, savior of the galaxy now instead of the Citadel. They wouldn’t look her in the face, not even the medics that administered the anti-rad shots to keep them alive during their initial search of Cipritine. It was all dust and smoke and danger, they’d have to wear breather helmets out there to stay alive, but the Alliance would help. However they could. 

It was stupid, but she almost hoped to find Garrus down there. He hadn’t been recovered at the base of the beam with the bodies, and she was guilty of being happy. The Normandy had been recovered somewhere in the Terminus systems, downed and out. Naturally the only thing that had taken out that ship was the end to the fighting. 

But now there was just rebuilding. And with the chaos of a burning planet around them, the turians still knew who she was. None of them flinched, but it was clear that all of them… respected her. So did the krogans and the asari and the salarians that had tagged along. But this was just a step in the right direction. 

That day, Shepard saw more of the destruction that the Reapers could do to a planet, Earth’s state reflected on Palaven, even though this planet was more metal and silver than organic and green. The pain was the same here. They uncovered a lot of death and destruction that day, and with it came more pain. 

Pushed to their limits of working in a toxic environment, the humans were pulled back with the salarians, retired to a safe place to rest, where engineers and specialists had gotten power systems back online, started filtering the water, tending to the injured they could find and bring back. It was never enough, but this city had been hit the hardest. All of the large cities had been, all of them had resisted and nearly been destroyed. But for Cipritine, it was the worst. 

Word was going around about moving the humans somewhere less toxic for them, less demanding. But Shepard didn’t want to go; she knew that this city was her best chance to finding one turian in an entire galaxy. In a whole mess of turians. 

_She_ was a mess. Which apparently showed. 

“Commander Shepard?” The voice was familiar, and she looked up to find a turian holding some water for her. And suddenly her throat was very tight and very dry, because he wasn’t the turian she wanted. 

“Primarch, you’re here.” 

“Honestly Shepard, I’m surprised you’re here,” Victus sat down as she accepted the water. “Palaven was never very friendly to anything but turians, but now? Now it’s even worse. It’s _dangerous_ here, Commander. None of the humans should be here.”

Victus’ concern (for a turian, it had to be concern) was touching, but amusing. It just got a snort from Shepard as she drained the drink. “I doubt if two Reapers, the Collectors, Cerberus and some ridiculous Citadel explosion couldn’t take me out that some smoke and dust would.” 

There was silence for a long time between them, because no. No, after all of this, Shepard wasn’t going to let some stupid dust get the better of her. Or maybe it was the fact that her luck might have run out. After Mindoir, Azuke, Eden Prime, Saren, Sovereign, dying, Earth, Cerberus – everything? Maybe it would just take some dust. For that time, Shepard was lost in her thoughts, reliving all of those times she might have died, where one bullet might have been “the one,” like Garrus had put it. 

“I doubt Vakarian will be pleased to know you’re taking the chances.” 

That brought her out of her trance, and left her looking up at Victus. Turians didn’t smile like humans smiled, but there was something about the way he looked. Like he knew something she didn’t. And dammit if someone in this galaxy didn’t always know something she didn’t. 

“Garrus? You know where he is?” But the only answer she received was that same look, and she was this close to freaking out (Commander Shepard actually freaking out, what a ridiculous idea) before two arms wrapped around her from behind and lifted her from the bench. Blue-armored arms that were definitely not human. 

“I’d wondered if you’d gotten off to somewhere without me, Shepard.” 

Ignoring the stupid turian armor and the awkward looks they were getting, Shepard twisted around enough to grab Garrus by his shoulders and pulled him (or maybe he was already leaning in) to kiss him. That had been their last kiss on Earth, before the beam, before the Citadel, before…

“Figures I had to go to the worst place in the galaxy to find you, Vakarian. First Omega and now here?” 

“It’s not so bad, Shepard.” Counting in the way he wasn’t letting her go or moving to break their contact, no. Palaven, even with all of its radiation and smoke and ash was better like this. “We’ll rebuild, Palaven will be strong again and it will… look better.” Never the same, though, and Shepard understood that. 

“I’m just glad you’re okay, Garrus. I would have been damned upset if you were up there and I couldn’t get free drinks.” That was only part of it, but everything else was private, between them, and Garrus understood. Of course he understood; the turian was dense sometimes, but he wasn’t stupid. 

“Well here I am. And about those drinks -- first round’s on me if you’re still interested.” 

**Author's Note:**

> After watching the end of Mass Effect 3, I simply needed to write a little fluffy thing to make it better. For a lot of the love interests. This is just the first, I plan to do more. Also, no what is a beta? No idea.


End file.
